Generally, textile dyeing systems include several arrays or "color bars" comprised of individually controllable and addressable dye jets that are arranged in spaced, parallel relation generally above and across the path of a moving web of substrate. For a given desired pattern, each color bar is associated with a single color of dye.
A stream of dye, directed at the moving substrate, continuously flows from a plurality of dye jets in each color bar. Positioned along the path of each dye stream is an individual, transversely directed stream of air capable of intersecting and diverting the respective individual dye stream into a catch basin. Each such diverting air stream is associated with a valve which is capable of interrupting the flow of air in accordance with internally supplied pattern data. Accordingly, each of the diverting streams of air may be interrupted in accordance with such pattern data and thereby initiate the flow of dye onto the substrate from the various respective dye jet locations along the length of the color bar. For purposes of discussion, referring to a dye jet as being "on" or "off" in the context of the patterning methods an apparatus described in detail herein merely refers, respectively, to whether the continuously flowing dye jet is being allowed to strike, or is being prevented from striking, the substrate.
In the dyeing apparatus generally described above, up to eight color bars, each assigned to a different color dye or other patterning agent, are sometimes necessary to generate a pattern having the desired color variety and blending. Additionally, each color bar may have hundreds or thousands of individually controllable dye jets in order to generate a pattern having the desired complexity and lateral pattern resolution.
In connection with such dyeing systems it has been found necessary to develop electronic processing and control systems for the purpose of processing each "job" of patterns to be generated on the substrate by transforming the raw source pattern data associated with each job into air valve actuating commands. The processing and control system further distributes these commands to the appropriate air valves at the appropriate time. Such electronic processing systems can be of a multiprocessor system including a host computer and a real-time computer. The real-time computer receives the raw source pattern data and forwards the data to the control system associated with the dyeing apparatus.
In these systems, the raw pattern data must first be converted to "on/off" firing instructions. The control system accepts the raw source pattern data in the form of a series of pixel codes. The pixel codes define those distinct areas of the pattern which may be assigned a distinguishing color. Each code specifies, for each pattern line, the dye jet response for a given dye jet position on each and every array. In a system having eight color bars, each pixel code therefore controls the response of eight separate dye jets (one per color bar) with respect to a single pattern line. The term "pattern line", as used herein, is intended to describe a continuous line of single pattern elements extending across the substrate parallel to the patterning color bars. Such pattern lines have a thickness, measured in the direction of substrate travel, equal to the maximum permitted amount of substrate travel under the patterning color bars between color bar pattern data updates. The term "pattern element", as used herein, is intended to be analogous to the term "pixel" as that term is used in the field of electronic imaging.
An operator's interface, such as a workstation terminal, may be coupled to the host computer in the multiprocessor system. The workstation serves as the operator's interface for providing the input parameters to the host computer for each job of patterns to be generated on the substrate of the textile dyeing apparatus.
The operator enters the input parameters as a "RUN LIST" which designates the type of substrate to be dyed and the types of patterns to be printed for each job. The RUN LIST input, for the type of base to be dyed, accesses a base file which includes the firing time for each of the color bars in the dyeing apparatus. The RUN LIST entry, for the type of pattern, accesses a stock keeping unit (SKU) file. The SKU file designates for each pixel code used in the pattern, the respective color bars associated therewith. With this information, the multiprocessor and control systems generate the individual firing instructions for each jet in each color bar.
A known apparatus, described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,033,154, demultiplexes and distributes the sequence of pixel codes to a plurality of color bars, each color bar being comprised of multiple dye jets. The apparatus makes use of manually operable thumb wheel settings, associated with each color bar, to determine the time period during which each of the dye jets in the color bar is allowed to fire in response to a firing instruction, i.e., the "firing time". In this system, the operator inputs in the RUN LIST the color bars associated with each pixel code. The system then generates a converted pattern of firing time instructions from the raw source pattern data.
For example, a sequence of pixel codes for a single pattern line may be "AABAB", where pixel code A produces a red color and pixel code B produces a blue color. The operator inputs the "color loading" of the machine into the system, i.e., which color bars contain which colors. For example, if color bar "1" contains the red dye and color bar 2 contains the blue dye, then the operator associates pixel code A with color bar 1 and pixel code B with color bar 2 in the RUN LIST. From this information, the pixel codes for each pattern line are converted into on/off firing instructions for each color bar. In this example, the sequence of pixel codes "AABAB" would generate the following firing instructions for the jets in color bar 1: On, On, Off, On, Off. For color bar 2, the same sequence of pixel codes are converted to the following firing instructions: Off, Off, On, Off, On. The firing instructions are then stored in memory for the respective pattern. Once the pattern is ready to be run on the machine, the converted firing instructions are sent to the color bars, in accordance with the substrate travel beneath the color bars, for dyeing the substrate.
Because of the thumbwheel settings, the period of time during which any of the dye streams associated with a dye jet in a given color bar may be allowed to strike the substrate must be the same for all dye streams in the color bar, i.e., this control system is incapable of allowing one dye stream to dispense dye onto the substrate for a different period of time than another dye stream in the same color bar. Further, when changing patterns, the only means for varying the color bar firing time is to manually change the thumbwheel settings. This presents a problem when the operator is running a sequence of jobs in the RUN LIST because it is not possible to change the firing time thumbwheel settings for a respective color bar quickly or precisely enough to avoid wasting the substrate material traveling beneath the color bars.
A further problem with the above system is that the converted firing instructions require a tremendous amount of storage space. Thus, only a limited number of patterns can practicably be stored in the system.
Another known system converts the raw source pattern data to firing instructions by electronically associating the source pattern data with pre-generated firing instruction data from a look-up table. The operator's RUN LIST includes the SKU number and the base number. As noted above, the SKU file designates the appropriate color bars for each pixel code. The operator thus loads the color bar with the appropriate colored dye as determined by the SKU file. A separate look-up table is maintained for each color bar in the dyeing apparatus.
In the operation of this system, for example, a sequence of pixel codes "AABBAA" are each individually associated with a particular address in the look-up table. For this simple example, the patterns SKU file would designate pixel code A equaling color bar 1 and pixel code B equaling color bar 2. The operator then must load color bar 1 with the appropriate color for pixel code A and color bar 2 with the color for pixel code B. The following look-up tables are used wherein "FT" designates a firing time:
______________________________________ LUT's BAR 1 BAR 2 ______________________________________ A FT 0 B 0 FT ______________________________________
Each pixel code in the sequence has an associated firing time instruction in the look-up table for each color bar. These instructions are fed to memories associated with each color bar. In this example, the memory associated with color bar 1 receives the following sequence of firing instructions: FT, FT, Off, Off, FT, FT. The memory associated with color bar 2 receives the following set of firing instructions: Off, Off, FT, FT, Off, Off. Thus, the look-up table translates the raw source pattern data into firing time data in accordance with the machine set up. Each time a new pattern, identified by a new SKU number and associated file, is to be run on the machine, a new look-up table must be generated for the pattern. This presents a problem due to the dye color loading in the color bars of the apparatus. If a second pattern requires different colors to be loaded into the color bars, as specified by the pixel code/color bar associations in the SKU file, then the machine must be shut down to reload the color bars. This is a time and labor intensive process involving cleaning out the color bars and reloading them with the appropriate colors.
Alternatively, if different colors, required by the second pattern, are loaded in other color bars in the apparatus, then the SKU file will need updating due to the pixel code/color bar association in the SKU file. There is therefore needed a textile dyeing apparatus and associated processing and control system which can operate in real-time the patterns input into the system from the operator's RUN LIST.